Vacuum type filling machine



Oct. 10, 1933. FAGAN 1,929,736

VACUUM TYPE FILLING MACHINE Filed lay 31, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 10, 1933. FAGAN 1,929,736

-VACUUM TYPE FILLING "ACHINE l Filed May 31, 1932 zsheets-sheet 2 JPM'SEFQ an Patented Oct. 10, 1933 UNITED STATES- VACUUM TYPE FILLING MACHINE Lewis E. Fagan, Chicago, 111., assignor to Mojonnier Bros. Co., a corporation of Illinois Application May 31, 1932. Serial No. 614,474

7 Claims. I (01. 226116) The present invention relates to vacuum type filling machines and has to do 'more particularly with the filler heads of such machines. Machines of this type fill the receptacle by removing the air and replacing the same with the liquid with which the receptacle is to be filled. Good examples of such machines will be found in Broadhursts United States Patents No. 1,413,960, granted April 25, 1922, No. 1,665,948, granted April 10, 1928, and No. 1,675,208, granted June 26, 1928.

An important object of the invention is to improve the filler head by giving the vacuum breaker leak, which is continuously open to atmosphere in the Broadhurst type of machine, such a path the filler head that it may be made to give diflerthat the energy of the incoming air will be largely spent by the time the air reaches the liquid in the receptacle being filled. It is also preferable, with a view to the same end, to give the incoming air path such a shape and direction as to cause the air to take on a whirling motion which dissipates its energy and brings it into contact with the liquid in a spent condition and in a direction suited to the establishment and maintenance of a quiet state at the time the filled container is withdrawn from the head. Indeed, at such time the surface of the liquid seems to act like a film and seems to have a surface tension which contributes to holding the level against change. 1 The establishment of such a liquid level results in a clean receptacle top. In other words, containers thus filled are clean at the conclusion of the filling operation.

Another object is to provide a filler head of the .type'mentioned which, in operation, will be free of any surging action as the foam of the milk or other liquid, as the casemay be. is drawn upward out of the receptacle when it is full. In prior filler heads of this type, one of the difiiculties encountered was the presence of a surge in the liquid which, when the liquid was siphoned ofi', caused different liquid levels in different containers, as well as a certain amount of spillage and unclean filling. Thus, a second object is to provide for a filling of receptacles at a given and constant levelfor all the receptacles.

Another object, while broadly carrying out the liquid control features of the earlier Broadhurst machines, is to provide a novel filler head of such construction that at the time of withdrawing the receptacle from the head, that is to say at the time the vacuum is completely broken, the liquid which is not needed for filling the receptacle will be siphoned back into the supply pipes so as to leave a relatively clean nozzle. Indeed, it is quite necessary to siphon back practically all of the liquid that is not needed. If this is done withuniformity whatever small drip there may be is constant for all receptacles and hence all receptacles are filled to the same level. Thus, the

siphoning action skims off the surface of the Another object is to so construct the filler head that it may be quickly and properly cleaned and inspected and particularly in the case of its interior passages.

Still another object is to so design and construct ent standard filling levels for the receptacles be-' ing filled, that is to say, for example, one level for all receptacles filled at one plant, a second level for all receptacles filled at a second plant, a

third level for a third plant, and soon. This is done in order to suit the desires of the different dealers who differ among themselves as to the best level to which to fill the containers.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be best understood 30 upon reference to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings while the scope of the invention will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In said drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective view 3 of a filler head constructed and arranged in accordance with the present invention, the same showingmore particularly the top; Fig. 2 is a similar perspective view showing more particularly the underneath portion; Fig. 3 is an elevation of the same showing parts broken away and others in vertical section; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the cushioning ring employed in the head; Fig. 5 is an underneath view of the head with a portion of the cushioning ring broken away; Fig. 6 is a transverse section of the head, the plane of section being indicated by the line 6-8 of Fig. 5; Fig. '7 is a horizontal section of the same taken on a plane indicated by the line 'l'! of Fig. 6; and Fig. 8 is a diagram of filling machine parts introduced for the purpose of showing how the filler head works in a completed machine. Throughout these views like characters refer to like parts.

The filler head consists essentially of a main the boss 0 and positioned I so as to engage the tops of the receptacles E which are to be pressed into air-tight connection with it while being filled. The liquid on its way to the receptacle passes through a supply pipe 9, a passage 10 in a tubular portion 11 of the head, a passage 12 and a delivery port 13 at the lower end of the passage 12. The vacuum connection includes a vertical axial passage 14 terminating in a nozzle port 15. The continuous open leak passage 16 extends from atmosphere at its outer end to an enlarged chamber 17 at its inner end, and the latter is in turn in communication with the open mouth of the receptacle through the ratively lat space 13 around the boss and e cusl "'cning llthough ng some reads no of an inch w th, yet upon c culation it will be found to be oi greater cross sectionai area on a horizontal plane than is chamber ll' upon a radial vertical plane. I" should be noted at this point that the air zontal circular path and then when it passes into the space 18 it works downward through the latter while traveling in a more or less spiral path. fziere is an abrupt turn from the horizontal to the vertical but because of the curvature of the encountered walls the speed of the air is properly slowed down and its energy dissipated. Thus the leak passage 16 combines with the space formed by the chamber 1'7 and the annular space 18 to provide a path for air which is of leak size at one point and of a greatly increased crosssectional area inward of said point and on through to the receptacle whereby the air when it reaches the receptacle is in a spent condition and contacts lightly with the contained fluid. It may also be noted that as the incoming air emerges from the space 18 and enters the top of the receptacle it enters a space having still larger horizontal cross-sectional area than the one it just left and this change has its effect in subduing the energy of the air and causing it to lightly impinge upon the contained fluid. The curvature of the walls of the chamber 1'1 and space 18 and the tangential position of the leak opening 16 all cooperate with the space in the top of the receptacle to give the incoming air its proper spiral path in order to consume its energy and deliver it in subdued form to the liquid in the top of the filled receptacle.

When the receptacle has been filled up to the level of the lower face of the nozzle C, the air flowing from the leak opening 16 over the path just traced passes in small quantities, which appear like bubbles, over the under face of the nozzle at the point a traveling from the outside into the port 15 of the vacuum passage 14. Indeed, these little masses or bubbles of air pass over th s portion of the nozzle face in a constant stream, the point a being the point of least resistance.

In a complete machine the filler heads are associated with other parts in the manner shown in the aforesaid Broadhurst patents and also diagrammatically in Fig. 8 of the present draw ngs. In the latter, receptacles E, here shown as milk bottles, are carried upon lifters G which are movable up and down to shift the bottles into and out of engagement with the filler heads.- Each liquid pipe 9 branches out from a central supply pipe or passage H wh ch is connected through a transverse pipe or passage 19 and a vertical pipe or passage 20 to a liquid supply tank J. A float valve mechanism K keeps the liquid, supplied l1 entering the chamber 1'? travels mostly in a horifrom an outside source, at a constant level in the tank. The upper end of the central tube H opens into an intercepting chamber L and the latter communicates with a vacuum pipe line M to a vacuum pump or like exhausting means, not shown. The vacuum maintained is constant, and sufficient to hold the liquid at the level 21 at the top of the tube H. The vacuum passage 14: has a tube 22 connected in line with it and the latter enters the intercepting chamber L beneath a bafile plate 23.

The central supply passage or tube Z-l com called a barometric och is because the liquid in is mainta' by the vacuum at the level iich is, ured, about 2 -ches o; oer mal level utained by the supply Thus, that portion of the liquid in tube I which stands above the level at and terminates the level 21 is strictly speaking a barometric col= umn. It is this fact that has given this name to the pipe or passage itself which holds the column of liquid, which column is the barometric meas ure of the vacuum.

In operation, the liquid is maintained at the level 21 in the tube H by the-vacuum, and at the level 24 in the branch pipes 10 by the tank supply whenever the receptacles E are out of filling contact with the filler heads. When a receptacle is moved upward by the lifter G into filling contact with the head, the vacuum pressure maintained in the intercepter L draws air out of the receptacle through tube 22, and l quid from the pipe 9 replaces the withdrawn air. If the liquid be a foaming liquid, as milk, then, as it enters the receptacle, its foam is promptly drawn oil through the foam tube 22. Th s action continues until the liquid reaches the proper level for a filled receptacle. Then, because of the leak passage 16 and the other parts being in the relation shown, the liquid is not drawn up through the foam tube in large slugs or gulps with intervening layers of air so as to produce a surge in the liquid stream due to pressure variations occasioned by periodic releases of the slugs as they pass into the intercepter, as was the case-in prior devices of this class. In contrast to th s, the new filler head operates to break up the liquid into small quantities or particles which are mingled with small quantities of the air to produce what might be called a fine foam and it is this fine foam that is carried up into the interceptor L. It is this mixing of fine liquid and air masses that prevents surging in the liquid supply passages 10, 12 and thus maintains a practically constant pressure in the tops of the receptacles at all times, which has much to do with maintaining a uniform level for all the receptacles which are filled. When the filled receptacle is fully withdrawn from the filler head, air from outside rushes over the edge of the receptacle top and the vacuum is fully broken. At such time the liquid in the supply passage 9 retumsto the supply column H and siphons out any res due of liquid that there may be in the passage 12. In this way a minimum drip into the receptacle is obtained and in practice this can be regulated so as to be uniform so that all receptacles are equally filled as the filling machine is uniformly operated. All foam drawn into the. intercepter L breaks up and the liquid collects in' the column H and the air passes out through the vacuum pipe M.

In reducing my invention to practice, I have provided a machine for, handling milk. It is such a machine that is herein shown and de' scribed, although it will be obvious that the invention may be made use of in the handling of other l quids. In the'remainder of the description, therefore, the machine, and its parts, will be referred to and described as a milk bottle filling machine, which it in fact is.

Referring to the drawings somewhat more in detail, it will'be noted that the head, as before noted, comprises the body A, .the peripheral flange B, and the central cylindrical boss or nozzle 0. These are all preferably integral and made out of a single casting of metal.

The flange 33 includes a long skirt 25 and a short skirt This difference in len th is provided in order to suit'tl'le positioning 01 .e milk bottles. these bottles are upon the lifters G and the latter are in their lowermost position, the tops of the bottles will slip under the short skirt 26, and at all tine-es these tops will engage the long skirt 25. arrangement facilitates placing the bottles in proper position upon the litters in line to bring the upper edge of the bottle into contact with the cushioning ring D when the lifters G are raised.

The boss or nozzle C is preferably flat on its under side and the flat surface is preferably horizontal. When a bottle is completely filled, this surface will substantially coincide with the level of the milk in the bottle. The central opening 1%, which constitutes the vacuum passage of the head, is straight throughout its length so that it may be readily cleaned. In turn the pipe 22 which connects with it is also in vertical alignment with the opening 14 so that it may also be readily cleaned. The pipe 22 is fitted into a bore in the upper end of the head and sweated into place, a fillet of solder 27 being used in making the connection.

Besides the suction port 15 in the lower face of the nozzle C, there is the milk supply port 13 which forms the outlet of the inclined milk passage 12. The latter is so inclined that when the milk is discharged into the bottle it will strike against the side of the bottle. This prevents objectionable currents of milk in the bottle and consequently the unnecessary inclusion of air in the milk in the filled bottle and, furthermore, assists in the proper filling of the bottle. It will be noted that this passage 12 is a straight passage throughout its length so that it may be also readily cleaned. As before noted, the passage 12 communicates with the passage 11 within the tubular portion 11. The milk supply pipe 9 is fitted and sweated into the lower end of the tubular portion 11 in the same way as the pipe '22 is fitted and sweated into its opening. In this case a fillet of solder 28 is used in making the connection. It will be noted that the passage 10 is in alignment with the pipe 9 so that these passages may be readily cleaned. When operating, the upper end of the passage 10 is closed by a plug 29. This plug consists of a body 30 of rubber or like material having a head 31 preferably integral therewith and upon the latter a cap 32 of metal which is pressed into position around the head 31. This cap causes the plug to harmonize in outward appearance with the rest of the filler head. When the plug is removed, access may be had to the interior of the passage.10 and the tube 9 for cleaning purposes.

The cushion D, against which the top of the bottle is pressed to form an air-tight seal, is composed of rubber or other suitable resilient material and is preferably rectangular in cross section, and shaped so as to rest firmly up against a seat 33 formed on the under side of the head just outward of and below the annular chamber 17. As shown, the cushion D extends inward beyond the edge of the seat 33 beneath the chamber 17 so as to partially close the latter and yet leave a space 18 between the cushionD and the adjacent wall of the-boss C. The cushion is such that when the top of a good and sound milk bottle engages it, an air tight seal is made and the filling operation proceeds, but when a cracked or otherwise unsound or leaky bottle is presented to the cushion, an air tight seal will not be made and hence there will be no vacuum in, and no filling of, the bottle.

Thus the head discriminates between good and defective bottles and fills only the ones which are good and should be filled.

Preferably the leak it extends horizontally through the body of the filler into com-- munication with the chamber 17 and opens into the latter in a direction tangential to its circular contour, as clearly shown in Fig. fl. It will be seen that the air, by reason of the small leak passage 16, will rush through that passage, at a high speed and will, upon emergence therefrom, impinge with considerable force upon the outer wall of the chamber 17 and will at the same time, by reason of the enlarged space into which it has been projected, expand. in so doing, it will lose its force and by reason of its continued whirling motion through the chamber 1'3 andv on down through the passage 18 around the outer wall of the nozzle C, practically have expended all of its energy by the time it reaches the milk level coincident with the level of the under face of the nozzle C. In this way the force of the incoming air stops the filling at the proper level and skims off the foam and siphons off the surplus milk, the foam passing through the foam passage 22 and the milk siphoning back into the column H, and does all this without causing any of the milk to spill over the edge of the bottle. And as before noted, the level in the diiierent receptacles remains the same. Likewise the drip from the milk passage 12 is constant. And in all the bottle tops the pressure is kept practically constant.

In arranging the leak passage 16, the chamber 17 and the space 18 as I have done, I provide a breaker leak path which is of leak size in the passage 16 and inward thereof in the chamber 17 and space 18 of a greatly increased cross-sectional area. and I thereby cause the air as it emerges from'the passage 16 to greatly expand and so reduce its force before coming into contact with the liquid level in the receptacle. Furthermore, by having the passage 16 enter the chamber 1'? at an angle to the general direction of the latter a whirl is imparted to the incoming air, and the latter, descending in a. sort of spiral through the chamber 1'? and space 18, quite fully l dissipates its energy and also comes into contact with the llquidat an angle which is best suited t6 quieting it and maintaining it so.

The cushioning ring!) may be readily moved out of position by thrusting a rod or rods into the openings 34, 35. Thus, the ring D'may be removed and'cleaned while those portions-of the head with which the ring has been in contact, may also be cleaned. It should be noted also that the ring D is of such size that it flts snugly against the outer wall 36 which is positioned just outward of the seat 33 and serves as a means for Irictionally holding the ring in proper position. It will beseen that with a ringot given depth there-will be a constant distance between the under side of the ring D and the plane of the lower face of the nozzle C. This distance will determine the level of the milk in the bottles which are being filled. Obviously, by providing rings D of greater depth than the one shown, the distance between these two planes would be reduced and in this way the level of the milk in the bottle would be raised. Similarly, by providing rings D of less'depth, the milk level would be lowered. Some milk dealers desire one level and others other levels. Consequently, in practice, .rings D of difierent depths are provided to suit the wishes of the different dealers or to meet other conditions.

The lifters G may be raised and lowered by any suitable mechanism such as pointed out, for example, in the aforesaid Broadhurst patents, particularly Patent No. 1,665,948.

The suction maintained in the vacuum line M is practically constant and sufiicient to maintain the milk at the level 21, as before noted. This level, in machines which have been built heretofore to embody the features of this invention, had

a barometric level of about 21% inches of water.

In those machines a difference of about 17 inches is maintained between the level 21 and the level of thelower face of the nozzle C and between the latter and the level 24 of about 4% inches. The outlet of the foam tube 22 at its point of entry into the interceptor L is also at a level of about 4% inches above the barometric column level 21. The baflle plate 23 is also located at from Y to A of an inch above the outlet of the tube 22. These dimensions are merely illustrative. They have been taken from-operating machines which handle milk. For other liquids and other conditions difi'erent dimensions might be desirable.

The milk tank J should be of suitable size and positioned high enough to give the requisite milk level when the parts are at rest. In actual practice filling machines for filling milk bottles having from twenty to twenty-four filler heads have tanks of ten gallons capacity. Smaller machines having from eight to fourteen filler heads have tanks having five gallons capacity. The milk level maintained in the tank is indicated at 24 in the diagram of Fig. 8.

The milk in the tank J is maintained at the required level by any suitable means, as the float mechanism K, which includes the float 3'7 and the valve 38. The latter controls the entrance of milk into the tank as the same is delivered thereto through a suitable milk line, such as indicated by the pipe 39,. Whenever the milk level tends to lower, the float, descending with it, automatically opens the valve 38 and allows more milk to enter the tank and this entering continues until the proper level is reaghed, whereupon the float closes the valve, and these operations are repeated as often as necessary to keep a proper level in the tank, as is usual in devices 01' this kind.

The intercepter L is a chamber of considerable capacity and is employed for the purpose of colterior of the interceptor L is provided with the baflle plate 23, and the latter-has a sufilcient number of openings 40, positioned inward from the tubes 22, to allow the air which is freed below the battle plate, to pass upward above the same and thence out through the vacuum pipe M. Commonly, about eight holes 40 are provided in the bafile plate. In certain embodiments of my invention these holes have been two inches in diameter. The foam, as it' emerges from the pipes 22, strikes against the under side of the baflle plate 23 and is directed downward and inward over the bottom of the intercepter, the milk meanwhile separating from the air and passing to the milk column in the central tubular passage H, while, as before noted, the air passes up through the openings 40 and on out through vacuum pipe M.

Preferably the milk carrying tubes are composed of stainless steel and the casting which forms the head body and associated integral parts is composed of nickel alloy, such as is now commonly used in the manufacture of milk contacting parts.

From what has been said, it will be seen that some alterations and modifications may be made in the specific form of structure illustrated without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. I, therefore, aim to cover by the terms of the appended claims all those alterations and modifications which rightly come within the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. A filler head of the class described, comprising nozzle means having downwardly extending liquid supply and vacuum connection passages terminating in adjacent nozzle ports adapted to enter the open end of a receptacle to be filled, and a cushion on the under side of said head around said ports, against which cushion the open end of the receptacle is pressed to form therewith an air tight seal when the receptacle is positioned for filling, the interior of the head being provided with a passage for supplying air to the open end of the positioned-receptacle, said pas- I sage'having an outer portion of leak size at one point and aninner portion of greatly increased cross-sectional area located inward of said pointand extending on through to the receptacle, said outer portion having at its inner end a horizontal I discharge opening for projecting the incoming air into said inner portion in a substantially horizontal direction, said inner portion having a horizontally curved outer wall for receiving the air emerging from said discharge opening and di- 1 recting the same in a general spiral swirling path about said nozzle means on down to the surface of the liquid in the receptacle, whereby the admitted air traveling at first at high speed is reduced in speed and energyand finally upon reaching the .1 receptacle contacts lightly with the contained liquid.

' 2. A filler head of the class described, comprising nozzle means having downwardly extending liquid supply and vacuum connection passages j terminating in adjacent nozzle ports adapted to enter the open end of a receptacle to be filled, and a cushion on the under side of said head around said ports, against which cushion the open end of the receptacle-is pressed to form 1 therewith an air tight seal when the receptacle is positioned for filling, the interior of the head being provided with a passage for supplying air to the open end of the positioned receptacle, said passage having a horizontal outlet portion of 1 leak size at one point and an inner horizontal annular portion of greatly increased cross-sec tional area, said small outer portion discharging substantially tangentially against the curved wall of said larger annular portion and said 1 larger annular portion opening downward around said nozzle means, whereby. the admitted air traveling at first at high speed through said outer portion subsequently expands in said annular portion and travels through the same at re- .1

duced speed and then continues in a whirl on down in a general spiral direction around said nozzle means to the receptacle where it arrives at low speed and with its energy well spent, so that it but lightly contacts with the contained liquid.

3. A filler head of the class described, comprising nozzle means having downwardly extending liquid supply and vacuum connection passages terminating in adjacent nozzle ports adapted to enter the open end of a receptacle to be filled, a seat on the under side of said head around said ports having an annular chamber formed above and inward of it, and a cushion upon said seat spaced from said nozzle means to provide a communicating passage of relatively large crosssectional area between said chamber and the open end of a receptacle positioned for filling, said cushion serving to form an air tight seal with the top of the receptacle thus positioned, said chamber being communicable with atmosphere through a leak passage which enters said chamber in a direction to project the incoming air substantially tangentially against curved walls of said chamber.

4. A filler head of the class described, comprising nozzle means having downwardly extending liquid supply and vacuum connection passages terminating in adjacent nozzle ports adapted to enter the open end of a receptacle to be filled, a seat on the under side of said head around said ports having an annular chamber formed above and inward of it, and a cushion upon said seat spaced from said nozzle means to provide a communicating passage of relatively large cross-sectional area between said chamber and the open end of a receptacle positioned for filling, said cushion serving to form an air tight seal with the top of the receptacle thus positioned, said chamber being communicable with atmosphere through a substantially horizontal leak passage which discharges into said chamber in a direction substantially tangential to the contour of the same.

5. A filler head of the class described, comprising nozzle means having downwardly extending liquid supply and vacuum connection passages terminating in adjacent nozzle ports adapted to enter the open end of a receptacle to be filled, a horizontal annular seat on the under side of said head about said ports having an adjacent annular chamber inward and above said seat, and an annular cushion on said annular seat spaced outward from said nozzle means to provide an intervening annular passage of relatively large cross-sectional area between said chamber and the open end of a receptacle positioned for filling, said cushion serving to form an air tight seal with the top of the receptacle thus positioned, said chamber being communicable with atmosphere through a substantially horizontal leak passage which discharges into said chamber in a direction tangential to the annular walls of the same.

6. A filler head of the class described, comprising an annular portion for engaging the top of a receptacle to be filled, an outer depending flange, a central depending boss having a straight axial vacuum connection passage and a straight outlet milk passage terminating in adjacent ports in the lower face of said boss, and an upper inclined tubular portion positioned at one side of the axis of said vacuum passage, the interior of said tubular portion constituting a straight milk supply passage open at the top and fitted to receive a milk pipe at its lower end, and said straight outlet milk passage communicating at its upper end with said milk supply passage.

7. A filler headof the class described, comprising an annular portion for engaging the top of a receptacle to be filled, an outer depending fiange, a central depending boss having a straight axial vacuum connection passage and a straight outlet milk passage, said passages terminating in adja cent ports in the lower face of said boss, an upper inclined tubular portion positioned at one side of the axis of said vacuum passage, the interior of said tubular portion constituting a straight milk supply passage open at the top and fitted to receive a milk pipe at its lower end, a seat upon the under side of said annular portion, a cushion on said seat for engaging the open end of the receptacle to be filled to form therewith an air-tight seal, and a plug for insertion into the top end of said tubular portion to close the passage therethrough, said straight outlet milk passage communicating at its upper end with said milk supply passage.

LEWIS E. FAGAN. 

